OVER THE RAINBOW

Perhaps the most familiar of all atmospheric sights is the rainbow. A rainbow begins when sunlight enters a raindrop. Most of the light passes straight through the drop, but some of it is refracted, or bent, into the colors of the spectrum. It then reflects off the back of the raindrop and

CREPUSCULAR RAYS

Sunsets are often depicted in paintings with majestic, beams streaming up radially into the sky from the already set Sun. Exaggerated as the artist may make them appear/sunbeams can often be seen in clear skies 10 to 15 minutes after sunset (or before sunrise). This phenomenon is called crepuscular radiation (from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning "twilight").

A FLASH OF GREEN

One of the most spectacular solar-terrestrial events, as well as one of the rarest, is the sudden flash of green light seen just as the Sun rises or sets. The green flash, as it is called, is the result of Earth's atmosphere bending different colors oflight by various amounts, especially near the horizon.